If you do, too, you’ll enjoy your visits to the city because winter brings with it all kinds of holiday events. From plays to displays, Springfield and the surrounding communities have it all.

Below are just a few holiday events scheduled for this winter. Be sure to check out our online calendar. New events are added daily. Or call the Convention & Visitors Bureau at 800-678-8767 to plan your trip today.

Springfield Festival of Lights
Event Time: Varies
Dates: Saturday, Nov. 19 Saturday, Dec. 31
Location: Downtown Springfield
Admission: Varies; many are free
A six-week celebration with activities ranging from musical performers to shopping to free fun for kids and adults. Kicks off the Saturday before Thanksgiving and ends by bringing in the New Year at First Night Springfield.http://www.ItsAllDowntown.com

Civil War Christmas Tours at Smallin Civil War Cave
Event Time: 6 p.m.
Dates: Friday, Nov. 25-Saturday, Nov. 26
Location: 3575 North Smallin Road in Ozark, Missouri
Join Smallin Cave for a Civil War themed Christmas tour. You will be treated to hot chocolate around a campfire, story telling, and a lantern light tour of the cave with twinkling Christmas lights along the way. Reserve required.www.SmallinCave.com

A Christmas Story
Event Time: varies
Dates: Thursday, Dec. 1
Location: Springfield Little Theatre – 311 E. Walnut St.
Admission: Call for details
A perennial holiday favorite, A Christmas Story recounts the Parker Family Christmas in a small Midwestern town in 1938. Nine year old Ralphie wants only one thing for Christmas: an official Red Rider BB gun. This wish and his efforts to fulfill his dream provide a delightful story of a simpler, less hectic time, a family holiday season and life in general, as seen through the eyes of a 9-year-old boy. Filled with lots of fun and laughter. A Christmas Story is a terrific holiday treat.www.SpringfieldLittleTheatre.org

WinterFest 2011
Event Time: Friday, 5 p.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m.
Dates: Friday, Dec. 2-Sunday, Dec. 4
Location: Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts – 525 S. John Q. Hammons Parkway
Admission: Free art show, theatrical performance prices vary.
WinterFest is a performing and visual arts festival. The lobby of Hammons Hall is filled with the work of 39 artists. Local performers fill the lobby with music throughout the day, and large-scale performances take place in the theater. Specific information regarding performances will be posted as WinterFest nears. Plan to get your Christmas shopping done by buying from local and regional artists!www.HammonsHall.com

Night Sky Essays: A New Winter Solstice Concert
Event Time: 7 p.m.
Dates: Friday, Dec. 2
Location: Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts – 525 S. John Q. Hammons Parkway
Enjoy the talents of Barbara Higbie, Samite and Liz Story as they illuminate your winter evening with the cool rhythms of the snow covered north, the vibrant winters of Africa, and the awe-inspiring beauty of the sky on a winter’s night with this multi-media musical performance. Samite is a world-renowned musician/composer/vocalist and photographer whose recordings have topped the World Music Charts. Liz Story is a pianist/composer and a three-time Grammy® nominee who has long been at the vanguard of new instrumental music. Barbara Higbie is a Grammy®-nominated multi-instrumentalist/vocalist that the San Francisco Chronicle calls “one of the most exciting musicians we have heard.”www.HammonsHall.com

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol
Event Time: 7 p.m.
Dates: Saturday, Dec. 3
Location: Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts – 525 S. John Q. Hammons Parkway
Admission: $15 (all seats)
In a Christmas present for the entire family, Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit, Marley’s Ghost, and the vivid cast of characters who inhabit Charles Dickens’ holiday classic come alive – in a virtuoso solo performance by New York veteran repertory actor Carl Whidden. Whidden’s faithful adaptation and masterful performance capture the essence of the timeless story at its source, bringing to life – with laughter, tears, dance and song – the realism, mastery of prose, comic genius and unique personalities that are hallmarks of Dickens’ most popular novel.www.HammonsHall.com

Christmas at the Farm
Event Time: Saturday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sunday, noon-8 p.m.
Dates: Saturday, Dec. 3-Sunday, Dec. 4
Location: Rutledge-Wilson Farm Park, 3825 W. Farm Road 146
Admission: Free; some activities have a fee
Make a visit to the farm part of your holiday tradition. Learn what happens on a farm during the winter months and how the animals cope with the cold. Enjoy making holiday crafts, get your picture taken with Santa or warm up with a cup of hot cocoa.www.ParkBoard.org